


Rules

by whitchry9



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: Best Friends, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Gen, Idiots in Love, M/M, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 00:25:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6216172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitchry9/pseuds/whitchry9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matt has rules for his relationship with Foggy. They start off simple, like 'don't scare him off', but over time, they become a bit more detailed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt can be found here: http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/6856.html?thread=13864136#cmt13864136

Don't scare him off.

 

This is the first rule Matt makes for himself when he is told he will have a roommate for his first year of law school. Apparently even with his disability, there were not enough single rooms to accommodate him, and he would have a roommate.

So Matt makes the rule.

One of the first things Foggy Nelson says to Matt could be construed as flirting, and Matt isn't sure if that was deliberate or not, but he smiles and awkwardly lets it go, and they end up getting coffee together, and he thinks that Foggy might be a person he'd like to keep around. Hence the first rule.

It turns out there are many more to come.

 

* * *

 

Don't mention the orphanage.

 

Matt finds this one out the hard way, when Foggy is discussing the pain of having a sister, and how his parents always babied her because she was younger. Matt laments never having a sibling, and adds that the other kids in the orphanage didn't really interact with him because he was different.

The silence that follows is awkward and heartbreaking, and Matt tries to amend it by talking about one of his favourite nuns, but it really doesn't make things better.

 

* * *

 

Don't mention your childhood.

 

He later amends it to include anything before the age of 16, because the orphanage was really only the tip of the iceberg. Apparently it wasn't considered normal to stitch your dad's face up late at night when he came home from fights. How was Matt supposed to know that? He was just grateful that Foggy was more drunk than him when he let it slip, and the awkward conversation that followed was mostly forgotten in the morning.

 

* * *

 

Don't mention the senses.

 

Matt starts to mention it, half drunk, about how his hearing is spectacular, before he realizes, in his somewhat inebriated state, that it could be an extraordinarily bad idea. Foggy is a great guy, but so far he hasn't reacted well to much of what Matt's told him.

 

* * *

 

Don't hurt him.

 

Really, this one encompasses a lot, and it's the one Matt goes back to in the future, when he thinks about sharing his nighttime activities with his best friend. But he knows that the truth will only hurt him. This rule comes before so many others that come after it.

This one comes about because Matt actually did get mugged once on campus, and he had to let it happen. It was kind of a surprise, and he didn't hear it coming, but he could have easily fought it off. He doesn't though, but makes sure he doesn't get hurt, moving just as the punches come so they only glance off his ribs instead of cracking them. They take his wallet, which only had a few assorted bills, and leave his student card, which was in a different pocket. That's really all he cares about.

After they leave, he picks himself up and heads back to the dorm, trying to stem the blood that's coming from his nose before he gets there so Foggy doesn't have to see.

He does see. Matt had been hoping he was out, maybe at the library, but Foggy is just right there when he gets back, and of course he asks what happened.

Matt tells him the truth, because it is the truth, and says that he is fine, which is also the truth. He doesn't tell Foggy that he could have stopped it, that he could have taken on twice as many people and still been fine, and he doesn't tell him how angry he is that he had to let it happen, the rage cooking somewhere low in his gut.

Instead he lets Foggy clean the wounds on his face and does not take his shirt off so he won't see the bruises (and one boot mark) on his chest along with the dozens of old scars, and he pretends he doesn't know how angry and hurt and indignant Foggy is about the whole thing. He wants to press charges, no matter that Matt didn't know who attacked him. Matt tells him it's fine, he's okay, he's _fine._

For the first time, Matt tells him a lie that Foggy doesn't believe for one second.

Foggy mopes for days, until the visible wounds heal up and there is no more evidence of the assault. Matt can still sense Foggy's pain sometimes, when he mentions needed to go shopping to get a new wallet, having to go to the bank so he could pick up cash, and he vows to never let it happen again. Secrets be damned, he would not let Foggy hurt like this again.

(That one comes back to bite him.)

 

* * *

 

Don't get too attached.

 

He makes this one when they're coming to the end of their first year of law school, and Matt assumes, their friendship. After all, wasn't theirs one of convenience, only to end when they no longer occupy the same tiny space?

But one day in April Foggy asks him if he wants to move off campus next year, and Matt just blinks like it never occurred to him that following Foggy was an option, that he would be welcome.

Matt's surprised to find he's almost crying when he says, yes, he would like that, and he knows he's getting too close. All good things must come to an end, and so will his relationship with Foggy. It would be better for both of them if he wasn't so attached when that time came.

 

* * *

 

Don't interfere with Foggy's relationships.

 

Marci is no good for Foggy. Anyone can tell that a mile away, even if they were blind. And Matt knew. Marci was a shark, cunning and always moving forward and she could sense the slightest hint of blood and would lean in for the kill. God knows what she saw in Foggy.

(Well, Matt knew, of course, he knew all about Foggy, knew that he would be a great boyfriend, was a great boyfriend. He just didn't understand why _Marci_ thought that too.)

But Matt doesn't bring it up because he can tell Foggy is happier, and Foggy tells him the sex is great and Matt makes faces and pretends not to listen as Foggy tells him they're going out again.

He knows it will crash and burn, probably spectacularly, but he knows he can't be the one to do it. After all, that goes back to one of the first rules- _don't hurt him._

(After they break up they tear each other apart at mock trial, to the point where even the prof knows something is up, but doesn't want to get in the middle. Matt honestly doesn't blame him.)

 

* * *

 

Don't plan for the future.

 

They've said it multiple times, that they'd start a firm together when they graduated, but they're always drunk at the time, to varying degrees, so Matt doesn't hold Foggy to it.

But then Foggy brings it up while they're stone cold sober and Matt freezes, because could it actually be coming true? He'd never let himself dream of a future where they worked together because he never thought it could be.

So he lets himself think about a firm together, but nothing outside of that. The rule is still firmly in place, Matt reminds himself, any time he starts to think about anything else that could be.

 

* * *

 

Don't read into his flirting.

 

Matt comes to recognize, over time, after having been witness to multiple of Foggy's relationships, what his flirting consists of. Sometimes it's even directed at Matt.

Matt makes himself ignore this, reminds him that this is _Foggy_ , this is his best friend. They are closer than brothers. Of course flirting happens sometimes.

There is nothing else to it.

 

* * *

 

Don't listen to his heartbeat, and don't think that it races sometimes when he tells you he's only kidding about wanting to kiss you or when you tell him it sounds like you're getting married.

 

Matt works really hard on this one. He honestly does. It's just that it's hard to ignore Foggy's heartbeat after hearing it so consistently for so long. It was there every night in law school when he went to sleep, and was there when he woke up, and if Matt focused enough on it he could drown out the snoring.

But that was different. That was just like… listening to someone breathe. Listening other times was like prying into someone's thoughts and checking out what they were thinking.

So Matt reminds himself, every time that he thinks Foggy's heart might be racing because he's lying about not wanting to kiss him, every time that Matt has to take his arm and press up close against him on the subway, every time Matt comes into work with a new bruise or cut and lies about where he got it.

Don't listen to his heartbeat, Matt reminds himself. It doesn't mean anything.

 

* * *

 

Don't let him know how angry you are.

 

There was a reason Jack Murdock took up boxing, and that hot temper passed right into Matt. His grandmother, bless her, knew all about the Devil in the Murdock boys, and Matt was no exception.

But Foggy didn't have to know.

Foggy didn't have to know that Matt had cracked bones in his knuckles punching walls before he knew to take his rage out on bags instead. Foggy didn't have to know that Matt knew just where to hit a man to incapacitate him and cause the most pain. (Thanks Stick.) Foggy didn't have to know that sometimes Matt just wanted to scream because he was so hot and full of rage.

That would only hurt him to know how angry Matt was, and Matt made it a rule to never hurt Foggy. This fell under that, but he made it a rule on its own, just in case.

 

* * *

 

Definitely do not let him find out about _the thing that happens at night._

 

This one overtakes everything else, because it includes all of them.

Don't scare him off. (Finding out that he is the man in the mask who has been beating people for answers, rescuing children from kidnappers, jumping off of buildings and diving into rivers… that would only terrify Foggy more than anything.)

Don't mention the orphanage. (The orphanage and Stick go hand in hand, and Matt sure as hell isn't going to talk about Stick. That breaks so many other rules too.)

Don't mention your childhood. (Being blinded is included in childhood, as is the senses, losing his father, being trained by Stick, basically everything that Matt doesn't want to talk about.)

Don't hurt him. (Matt's not sure if the lies would hurt worse, or if there would be actually physical pain that came with a reveal.)

Don't get too attached. (This is where he fucked up. He got attached and that's how he got in this mess.)

Don't interfere with Foggy's relationships. (Okay, maybe this one isn't exactly related, but he made this rule for a Specific Reason, and that was part of the reason he had all these rules.)

Don't plan for the future. (At any moment your future could be taken away. Don't take away his as well.)

Don't let him know how angry you are. (The rage is not the reason for what he does, but it certainly played a role. If he hadn't been blindsided by fury, he may have never put that mask on in the first place.)

 

If Foggy ever found out that Matt was the man in the mask, he would break every single rule he had worked so long and hard to keep, all at once. Just like that.

 

* * *

 

Do everything you can not to drag him down with you.

 

Matt has known for a while that things are not going to end well for him.

There are options, of course, as to how it will end, but none of them are good.

 

* * *

 

There was one more rule, one more extremely important one that Matt doesn't even like to think about, in case it could be broadcast across his face, or perhaps a mind reader wandered down the street and happened to listen in.

 

Don't let him know you're in love with him.

 

He tried one before that, _don't fall in love with him,_ but when it was clear he failed that rule, he amended it to be at least possible to follow. Emotions couldn't be controlled as much, but actions, they could.

There were sub-categories of rules, within this one:

Limit touching. (Matt might have let his hand linger when Foggy led him, allowed himself to be led even when he didn't need it, got even clingier when he was tipsy.)

Don't be jealous of the time he spends with others. (He is allowed to have friends other than you.)

No sleeping in the same bed, unless very drunk or hypothermia. (There were so many ways that could go wrong.)

Don't make jokes about growing old together. (He might start to believe it, or worse, you might.)

Don't flirt back. (His flirting is just friendly.)

Definitely do not push him up against a wall and kiss him breathless.

_Don't let him know you're in love with him._

Matt was having a harder time with this one.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Matt was doing just fine with his rules, balancing his life with Foggy and their brand new business. Then Karen came into the picture, and Matt had to make accommodations for her, include her in the people Foggy spent time with and that he should definitely not be jealous about.

 

But then things quickly went downhill with his nighttime activities, and they started to blur into his work, and Matt was doing all he could to desperately keep the two apart to avoid Foggy getting hurt or dragged down with him.

 

Naturally, it all went to shit.

 

* * *

 

Matt wakes up on his couch, only scattered memories of what had happened, with Foggy in the room demanding answers.

 

That leads to Matt breaking almost half of the rules right there. (Don't tell him about the senses. Don't mention your childhood. Don't hurt him. Definitely do not let him find out about _the thing that happens at night._ Don't let him know how angry you are. Do everything you can not to drag him down with you. And even the first one, the very first one: don't scare him off.)

Matt listened to him leave and wondered what he was going to do.

 

* * *

 

It takes time, but they patch things up. Fisk is behind bars, his friends are safe. Rules had been broken, and the world still turned. (Perhaps they weren't needed?)

 

Matt amended some rules.

 

Don't hurt him. Lying hurts him. You'll have to balance the truth with what will be too painful for your friendship to survive.

 

Some remained as they were.

 

Do everything you can not to drag him down with you.

 

Some were underlined, bolded, emphasized in every way possible.

 

**Don't let him know you're in love with him.**

 

* * *

 

Matt starts to wonder that if their friendship has survived so many other of the rules being broken, if, perhaps, this one isn't a necessity.

After all, would he have needed to make rules about flirting if there was nothing more to it? (Don't read into his flirting. Don't listen to his heartbeat, and don't think that it races sometimes when he tells you he's only kidding about wanting to kiss you or when you tell him it sounds like you're getting married.)

 

Perhaps there were some rules that were better to be broken.

 

* * *

 

Definitely do not push him up against a wall and kiss him breathless.

 

This rule is broken and discarded one night after drinking. They're leaving Josie's, and Matt is holding Foggy's arm while they fumble out the back and towards home. Foggy is warm and smells like the eel (he drank it) and his heart is beating in a reassuring way, and Matt is overcome by sudden warmth (may be the eel talking) and he stops, and Foggy stops with him.

Foggy looks at him, and Matt traces out Foggy's face with his senses, and then without warning, pushes him up against the wall and kisses him breathless.

Foggy lets him.

Even better, Foggy kisses him back.

 

* * *

 

Don't let him know you're in love with him.

 

This one is broken only seconds after, when they break apart for air. Foggy asks what took him so long, and Matt blushes, hoping it's not visible in the dark.

He blurts it out on a whim, and for a split second is terrified it will only be met with silence.

Foggy's response is to kiss him again and whisper it into his lips when they break apart for breath again.

Matt feels a thousand pounds lighter, like he could walk on air, like he could take on Stick and Fisk and Nobu all at the same time and win.

Instead they float home together, and Matt kisses Foggy a dozen more times just for the thrill of it, to prove he can, to listen to Foggy's heart make that flip flop sound of surprise.

 

* * *

 

Don't let him forget you're in love with him.

 

Matt reminds him every day. In the morning when they wake up, before they fall asleep, every time before he goes out to defend the streets, when he gets back, bloodied and bruised. He says it every day at work while Karen makes faces but her heart melts. He says it every time they go to Josie's and she gives them a bottle with the eel, and Matt can still remember the first time he tasted it on Foggy. He says it every time he remembers that it's true, every time he's worried that Foggy might forget, every time he's angry, sad, afraid, happy.

 

It is the only rule he never breaks.

 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Rules](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8807971) by [Shmaylor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shmaylor/pseuds/Shmaylor)




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